Pro-democracy leader Nathan Law leaves Hong Kong

Nathan Law, a former lawmaker and prominent pro-democracy activist, has fled Hong Kong, he announced Thursday on Facebook. The news comes days after China’s central government imposed a controversial national security law in the territory.

Law said he left the city because he wanted to continue the protest movement’s advocacy work on the international stage.

He did not say where he had gone, noting only that he would not reveal too much about his personal whereabouts and situation, and does not know when he will return to Hong Kong.

Protesters chant slogans during a rally against a new national security law in Hong Kong on July 1, 2020, on the 23rd anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China. - Hong Kong police made the first arrests under Beijing's new national security law on July 1 as the city greeted the anniversary of its handover to China with protesters fleeing water cannon. (Photo by DALE DE LA REY / AFP) (Photo by DALE DE LA REY/AFP via Getty Images)

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Law is one of the most famous protest leaders to come out of Hong Kong’s 2014 demonstrations, which shut down parts of central Hong Kong for more than two months.

He was elected as a lawmaker in 2016, but was disqualified from office by Hong Kong courts after Beijing enacted a rarely-used power to “reinterpret” the city’s constitution, putting more stringent requirements on how legislators took their oaths of office.

Law’s oath was deemed “insincere,” ending his term in parliament.

The new security law dramatically broadens the powers of local and mainland authorities to investigate, prosecute and punish dissenters.

Critics say the law has stripped Hong Kong of its autonomy and precious civil and social freedoms. The Chinese and local governments argue it’s necessary to curb unrest and uphold mainland sovereignty.

A woman reacts to pepper spray as police were clearing protesters in Hong Kong on Wednesday, July 1.

Protesters chant slogans during a rally on July 1. The gesture demands the government to meet their "five demands, not one less."

A protester is detained by police after being pepper sprayed during a protest at Causeway Bay before the annual handover march in Hong Kong, Wednesday, July 1.

A police officer raises his pepper spray gun as he detains a man during a march on July 1.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam makes a toast with former chief executives Tung Chee-hwa, center, and Leung Chun-ying following a flag-raising ceremony on July 1. July 1 is the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from British rule to China.

Police officers charge up shopping-mall escalators during demonstrations on July 1.

People wave flags and shout slogans inside a Hong Kong shopping mall on June 15.

Pro-democracy activists leave flowers outside a shopping mall where a man fell to his death last year after hanging a protest banner.

A pro-democracy protester shouts at police during a rally on June 12.

Activists defy a police ban to participate in a rally in Victoria Park on June 4. The rally, which has been held every year since the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in China, had been banned over coronavirus fears. Many viewed the ban as political in a city where infections were down to a handful per month.

A man holds up the iconic Tiananmen Square "Tank Man" photo during the Victoria Park rally.

From left, Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Agnes Chow — members of the pro-democracy political group Demosisto — hold a news conference on May 30. A month later, Demosisto and several other political and activist groups formally disbanded, fearing they could be targeted under the new law.

A man at a diner watches Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 28 as Chinese lawmakers approved a proposal for the new security law.

Xi votes on the proposal to draft a security law.

Pro-democracy protesters scuffle with police on May 27.

A young man uses the "five demands, not one less" gesture during a protest on May 27.

Police try to deter pro-democracy protesters from blocking roads in the Mong Kok district on May 27.

A pro-democracy protester is detained by police on May 24.

Tear gas is seen in the background as police try to disperse protesters on May 24.

A police officer fires on protesters in Causeway Bay on May 24.

A woman reacts to tear gas on May 24.

Pro-China lawmakers attend a news conference in Hong Kong on May 22.

Pro-democracy lawmaker Eddie Chu Hoi-dick is removed by security during a scuffle with pro-Beijing lawmakers at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong on May 22.

Delegates applaud as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives for the opening session of China's National People's Congress on May 22.

Pro-democracy and pro-Beijing lawmakers scuffle at the House Committee's election of chairpersons on May 18.

Lam Cheuk-ting, a pro-democracy lawmaker, tosses papers into the air in protest on May 18.

New security law sparks protests in Hong Kong

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Prominent activist Joshua Wong announced soon after the bill’s reported passage that he was leaving Demosisto, the political party he co-founded in 2016. Law and activist Agnes Chow, who were leading figures in the party, soon followed suit.

Wong and other activists have met with foreign diplomats and testified before the US Congress since large-scale pro-democracy protests broke out in vast numbers last summer.

After the new law went in effect on Tuesday night, Law testified via video conference before a US congressional committee hearing.